Obama Seeks an Israeli Shift

President Barack Obama visited the West Bank City of Ramallah and met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and urged Israelis and Palestinians to return to peace negotiations. Charles Levinson reports. Photo: AP.

By

Charles Levinson and

Colleen McCain Nelson

Updated March 21, 2013 7:25 p.m. ET

President Obama made a public appeal for sacrifice in the name of peace during his visit to Israel. How will the visit play out stateside? Jerry Seib reports.

JERUSALEM—President Barack Obama sought to kick-start a Mideast peace effort in a speech here Thursday by wooing the Israeli public and then admonishing them that they must treat Palestinians better to achieve peace.

U.S. President Barack Obama visited Palestinian leaders on the West Bank shortly after militants in the Gaza strip launched four rockets into southern Israel. No one was hurt. WSJ's Charles Levinson reports from Jerusalem.

The U.S. leader, on a three-day visit, sought to shed past tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and win the support of an Israeli public that has seen him as neutral or pro-Palestinian.

But after spending a day cementing his relationship with Mr. Netanyahu, the U.S. president took his appeal directly to a group of young Israelis, who were receptive to his message of fair treatment for Palestinians and peace in the Mideast.

Mr. Obama first met Thursday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, calling for new peace efforts, hours after militants in Gaza fired four rockets into southern Israel. The rockets caused no injuries.

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President Barack Obama after concluding a speech to Israeli students in Jerusalem on Thursday.
Reuters

He then returned to Jerusalem to address Israeli students in a 30-minute speech liberally sprinkled with Hebrew and references to Israeli pop culture.

One of the loudest outbursts of applause and a standing ovation followed Mr. Obama's statement that "the only way for Israel to endure and thrive as a Jewish and democratic state is through the realization of an independent and viable Palestine."

A senior Obama administration official said the speech was aimed at getting the Israeli people to believe once again that peace was possible, calling it a necessary first step before floating more ambitious proposals.

"If people don't get reinvested in the idea that peace is possible, it doesn't matter what confidence-building measures you do," he said.

Secretary of State John Kerry has already begun meeting with Israeli, Palestinian and regional leaders to suss out how to revive peace negotiations.

Mr. Obama said on Thursday that Mr. Kerry would try to move the two sides closer to agreement, but the president didn't offer a specific plan for getting Israeli and Palestinian leaders back to the table.

Mr. Obama's approach Thursday appeared aimed at winning Israeli trust for his effort by showing them a robust embrace of Israel.

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U.S. President Barack Obama and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their joint news conference in Ramallah, West Bank, on Thursday.
Associated Press

Many Israelis reacted warmly to the speech. "He made several points that were an absolute home run with Israelis," Israel's foreign-ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said.

Israel's incoming deputy defense minister Danny Danon, a pro-settler hard-liner, praised Mr. Obama's "recognition of the historic connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel." Mr. Danon said that connection justified continued Jewish settlement of the West Bank.

Mr. Abbas, after his meeting with Mr. Obama on Thursday, voiced hope for progress but said Jewish settlements in the West Bank were a hurdle on the path to a two-state solution. Mr. Obama backed away from the demand in his first term that Israel freeze settlements before entering negotiations.

Hani Masri, a Palestinian political analyst, said Mr. Obama's speech suggested the U.S. leader had shifted his support fully behind the Israeli narrative.

"Obama's second term is going to be even worse for the Palestinians than his first term," said Mr. Masri. "Receiving Obama in Ramallah today is a humiliation for the Palestinian people."

During a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Barack Obama affirms the U.S.'s commitment to Israel's security in the face of many challenges.

But Israeli and Palestinian officials said Mr. Obama's criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians was unusually direct and candid for a sitting U.S. president.

At a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Barack Obama discusses the strong partnership between the U.S. and Israel.

Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmed Tibi, who is close to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Mr. Obama "was the first American president who spoke like this about the suffering of the Palestinians."

Obama in Israel

Throughout the first half of his speech, Mr. Obama framed Israel's history and current security concerns in the same language that Israelis themselves use.

He denounced Hezbollah as terrorists, urged Arab countries to fully normalize their diplomatic ties with Israel, and reiterated his pledge to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. And then, Mr. Obama shifted. He told the audience of Israeli students that Palestinian self-determination must be recognized.

"Put yourself in their shoes—look at the world through their eyes," he said.

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